Maizy has never been to Last Chance, Minnesota, until now.
Her Mom’s plan is just to stay for a couple of weeks until her grandfather gets better. But plans change, and as Maizy spends more time in Last Chance (where she and her family are the only Asian-Americans) and at The Golden Palace—the restaurant that’s been in her family for generations—she makes some discoveries. For instance:
• You can tell a LOT about someone by the way they order food.
• And people can surprise you. Sometimes in good ways, sometimes in disappointing ways.
• And the Golden Palace has secrets.
But the more Maizy discovers, the more questions she has. Like why are her mom and her grandmother always fighting? Who are the people in the photographs on the office wall? And when she discovers that a beloved family treasure has gone missing—and someone has left a racist note—Maizy decides it’s time to find the answers.
I regret not reading this book sooner. It’s great! It reminds me of Kelly Yang’s Front Desk.
I’m amazed by how much the author, Lisa Yee, packed into one 269-page book. She managed to include tough subjects such as racism against immigrants and Asians, and multiple past and present hate crimes. The author did a fantastic job writing about these issues in a way that is easy to digest. The reason why these issues should be discussed is best explained in this quote from the story:
“I know that anti-immigrant rhetoric and anti-Asian crimes are scary. That’s why it’s so important to talk about them. We can’t pretend that bad things didn’t happen in the past and aren’t happening now. But we can address them and shine a light on the problems while looking for solutions.”
I loved Maizy’s relationship with her grandfather and the stories he told her about her great, great-grandfather, Lucky Chen. Lucky’s story highlights the many challenges Chinese people faced while immigrating to the US. A bit of a warning, the slur ‘chinaman’, along with more offensive racial slurs are used. Quoting the comedian John Mulaney, “Out of all the racial slurs, chinaman has got to be the laziest. That is just pushing two words together. No work was done there.”
On a lighter note, I loved the personalized fortune cookies Maizy wrote for her family and the restaurant patrons. Here are a few of my favorites:
Talk is overrated. True friendships are not.
Blue is your color.
Ask for that raise. You deserve it.
Check out the Author’s Note at the back of the book to learn about Lisa Yee, her family, and her writing journey.
Overall, with its short chapters and captivating plot, this story was a quick and enjoyable read.